Why other racial groups look alike?

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海词积累

1. neural /΄njʊərəl/ adj. 神经的；神经系统的

2. bias /΄baɪəs/ n. 偏见

3. caution /΄kɔː∫n/ v. 警告

4. stereotype /΄steriətaɪp/ v. 对……形成模式化的看法

The common perception that people from other racial groups look alike is rooted in the way human brains process what they see， researchers say.

It has long been known that people find it easier to tell apart members of their own race than those of a different race. Now a new study backs up the idea that the phenomenon is rooted，at least in part，in visual andneuralprocesses.

The researchers， whose study has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences， reported how 20 white participants were shown a series of images including faces， numbers and objects， while they had their brains scanned using functional MRI—a technique that allowed the team to spot changes in activity.

In 19 of the 20 participants， a greater area of the face-recognition region was activated when the participants saw a white face compared with a black face. The researchers said that it suggested participants were better at picking up on physical differences between white faces—even for faces completely different to each other，brain activity was higher for white faces.

The researchers said the findings could help to investigate ways to avoid harmful biases. Nick Camp， the co-author of the research from Stanford University， said some evidence suggested the phenomenon could depend on which characteristics were used to group people.

Dr Holger Wiese， an expert in face recognition at the University of Durham in the UK who was not involved in the research，described the study as elegant. Hecautionedagainst linking the phenomenon to prejudice，noting it was not clear how or if it was tied in tostereotypes， which tended to be rooted in assuming personality or behaviors are universal within a group. He said，“We don't know whether what they describe here is the basis for racial prejudice—the paper doesn't say that at all.”

—From The Guardian

Reading Check

1. The reason why other racial groups look alike lies in ______.

A. similar shapes of brains

B. visual and neural processes

C. universal personality and behaviors

D. prejudice against other racial groups

2. What's the main idea of paragraph 3?

A. The function of MRI.

B. The background of the researchers.

C. The information of the participants.

D. The details of how the research was conducted.

3. What's Dr Holger Wiese's attitude to the research?

A. Indifferent. B. Neutral. C. Approving. D. Opposed.

Language Study

Sentences for writing

1. 很久以前人们就知道区分他们自己的种族比区分那些不同的种族要更容易。

It has long been known that people find it easier _________tell apart members of their own race _________those of a different race.

2. 他警告人们不要把这种现象和偏见联系在一起， 说它和人们模式化观念之间的关系还不明确，这种模式化观念似乎根植在人们心中，认为一个群体中的个性或行为是普遍相同的。

He cautioned against _________the phenomenon _________prejudice， noting it was not clear how or if it was tied in to stereotypes， which tended to be rooted in assuming personality or behaviors are universal within a group.